The Winnipeg Blue Bombers’ refusal to report the full extent of the water damage at Investor’s Group Field is symptomatic of how this organization — supposedly a community-owned one, subsidized for decades by taxpayers — is completely unaccountable to the public.

Whether it’s their refusal to make bylaws or business plans public or provide taxpayers with specific, up-to-date information about the money they owe us for the construction of IGF, these guys operate as if they were a privately-owned company.

They love taking our money to bail out their operations and to build a new stadium. But when the public asks for openness and accountability, there’s virtually none.

Winnipeg Sun sports columnist Paul Friesen reported this week there’s some pretty serious flooding going on at the stadium due to the spring thaw. And it’s causing significant damage that will cost a pretty penny to fix.

Instead of being open and frank about the water damage, Bomber brass is being arrogant and secretive, refusing to give a full report on the extent of the damage, what’s behind it, and how much it will cost to fix.

Instead, they’re trying to cover it up. They’re embarrassed at how poorly this project has been rolled out with all the screw-ups, poor planning, and lack of attention to detail. So they’re trying to hide the latest construction/design gaffe by shutting out the public.

They won’t let the media in to see and record the damage. And they’re giving us virtually no information about it.

As far as they’re concerned, it’s none of the public’s business.

And that’s par for the course with these guys. They won’t give us the organization’s business plan so we can see how they plan to repay the money they owe taxpayers — which is now up to about $180 million. They’re supposed to make their first $1-million payment to taxpayers this year on that loan. But we don’t know when, or even if they’ll make that miniscule instalment.

They won’t give us copies of the team’s bylaws that outline how board members are appointed. That’s a secret.

“The bylaws are part of internal documents and we simply don’t release those,” the Bombers front office told me in an email last year when I asked for them.

Oh, sorry.

And good luck trying to get information on the two taxpayer loans the Bombers are responsible for — the “Phase 1” and “Phase 2” loans, the terms of which keep changing.

The Bombers don’t have the slightest intention of being open and accountable to the public. And the latest flooding episode hammers that point home.

Why not just give the public a full report on what happened, let a few cameras in to shoot the damage, and allow reporters to tell the story to the public?

The public would be a lot more sympathetic and understanding if the Bombers were open and forthright about what went wrong. Being secretive, smug, and unaccountable just makes the situation worse for them.

This stadium is not owned by the Bombers. It’s owned by BBB Stadium Inc., which is made up of three partners: the City of Winnipeg, the Bombers, and the University of Manitoba.

Which means taxpayers have every right to know everything about the operations of this building, including how it will be paid for and any damage that has occurred due to flooding.

The Bombers may claim they’re a community-owned team, but they don’t act like one.

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Bombers unaccountable to public: Brodbeck

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers’ refusal to report the full extent of the water damage at Investor’s Group Field is symptomatic of how this organization — supposedly a community-owned one, subsidized for decades by taxpayers — is completely unaccountable to the public.

Whether it’s their refusal to make bylaws or business plans public or provide taxpayers with specific, up-to-date information about the money they owe us for the construction of IGF, these guys operate as if they were a privately-owned company.

They love taking our money to bail out their operations and to build a new stadium. But when the public asks for openness and accountability, there’s virtually none.

Winnipeg Sun sports columnist Paul Friesen reported this week there’s some pretty serious flooding going on at the stadium due to the spring thaw. And it’s causing significant damage that will cost a pretty penny to fix.

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